MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — Five years after Jessica Heeringa vanished from a Norton Shores gas station, Jeffrey Willis has been convicted of killing her.
After only about an hour and a half of deliberation Wednesday, a Muskegon County jury found Willis guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Wills, who was in good spirits throughout most of the trial, listened with no expression on his face as the verdict was read. His head dropped only briefly after the bailiff finished announcing it.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 12. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Willis is already serving a life sentence for the June 2014 murder of Rebekah Blestch. He has denied murdering either woman.
'WE'RE STILL MISSING JESSICA HEERINGA'
Norton Shores Police Department Lt. Mike Kasher, the lead detective on the Heeringa case, said he was surprised by how quickly jurors reached a decision, but said they must have found that the evidence against Willis was "overwhelming and there was no other decision to be made."
"I think there's a lot of emotion because there was a lot of work put in to this. We were extremely happy," Kasher told 24 Hour News 8. "I think the prosecutor put on a great case, did everything right, and it's something we felt that we knew all along, or at least since May of 2016, that Jeffrey Willis was involved, did do the abduction of Jessica Heeringa and committed the murder."
He said he and other investigators felt vindicated by the verdict, but still feel "half empty" because Heeringa's remains have still not been found.
"And right now, we're still in the process of looking for her," he said.
"Unfortunately, I think Jeffrey Willis is the only one that knows where Jessica Heeringa is at this point," he added. "But when tips come in, we're still going to check. It's not boxed away and shelved away and we're all done. Like I said, we're still missing Jessica Heeringa. And I think it's only fair to her, fair to her family, fair to her son and everybody around that's she's brought home."
Notably absent from the trial was Heeringa's family. They say there's not enough evidence to show Willis killed her, still believe she's alive and still hope she will come home.
"No Jes, no justice," they posted on a Facebook page.